Mora County

I was surprised to find this ad in an old box of old papers, stashed away in one of our log cabins that is about to be moved. I graduated from High-lands Univer sity in 1954 and I agree with the text of today, 60 years later.

The New Mexico Stockman is the major publication issues to and for ranchers like us here in Mora County. Highlands attracted rural students from all over the state back then and it still does.

When visiting with friends recently I was asked about our neighbor to the south, Pendaries Village, as it was initially named. This old ranch is just five miles or so up the road from this resort and we had fun watching it become a full- time summer resort and much more.

Back in the late 1950s the Salk and Sabin vaccines for polio became available to every doctor in this country. My doctor father, Carl Gellenthien, was selected to immunize every person living in this San Miguel, Mora county area.

Surprises happen often and in different ways, thanks to this Palabras Pintorescas column. A phone call from Tim Knight, who lives in Peralta, surprised me. He followed this visit with a fun letter about his 1966 memory of his high school years at Robertson High in Las Vegas.

His grandparents, Cordelia and John Thomas, had a 40-acre farm just north of Mills and Seventh Street here. They also had the High County Sporting Goods Store on north Grand Avenue back in the ‘60s. Some of us old timers will remember this store, I’ll bet.

This ranch gets several ranch and agriculture related magazines in the mail every month or so. A recent “The Furrow” had an article about climate change that caught my eyes. Yes, this ranch family read this story with real interest because we rely on the weather (climate change) daily in everything we do here.

This column is fun to write because I (at this late time in my life) learn so much about our area history. A reader called me recently with a question. I had to admit I had no idea what or whom he was talking about. His person of interest had much to do with our Las Vegas area history.

“What did I know about Maximiliano Luna?” he asked. I had to admit the only thing I knew about that was luna is Spanish for moon and Camp Luna is just north of Las Vegas.

Mora Elementary School students spent two days celebrating Black History Month by learning about the enslaved people in New Orleans.

The students learned of how the people relentlessly toiled in an unjust system, while working and counting down the days until Sunday, when at least for half a day they were able to congregate in Congo Square.